The invention relates to a communication method using at least two interconnected terminals, the method comprising the step of collecting input data from a participant associated with one of the at least two interconnected terminals, the input data comprising at least video and/or audio data. The invention further relates to a terminal for use in such a method.
Such a method is applied in various multi-user communication systems such as groupware systems, distance learning systems and videoconferencing systems. A groupware system supports collaborative work among a number of remote workers. Distance learning systems are used for enabling students and teachers to attend and give lectures without the requirement of physically being in the same room or even the same building. Probably most widely spread nowadays are videoconferencing systems. They allow people to have meetings without being restricted by the conference location.
The success of such systems depends on whether effective communication sessions can be established. Therefore, a lot of research has been done for the purpose of increasing effectiveness of such multi-user communication systems. As an example, reference is made to a videoconferencing system that is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,374. The known system aims at establishing a videoconference which closely resembles a conference which is held at a single location.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved communication method. To this end, a communication method according to the invention comprises the step of deriving activity information about the participant from the input data.
The invention is based on the recognition that a problem in existing communication systems is that with plain video and/or audio data it is hard to build a mental image of the participants in a communication session. Such an image comprises different relevant characteristics of the participants based on many objective and subjective criteria. For example, an instructor wants to know which of his students are passive, active, dominative, talkative, etc. It has been found that it is much harder to build such a mental image with a distance learning system than in the face-to-face situation of a class room. This may be due to the fact that the instructor must filter out superfluous video information from multiple sources and perform monitoring tasks mentally while the learning and teaching processes are going on.
Furthermore, compared to a face-to-face communication session, aspects like natural authority, etc. are much harder to convey. Firstly, some of such characterizing information might not even be captured by conventional input units. Secondly, what is captured easily gets lost in the flood of data the participants get to digest.
A particularly distinctive characteristic of a participant is his or her contribution to the session. Monitoring the contribution of the participant to the session requires constant attention to the input data he or she produces. The problem is similar in a video and in a telephone conference. With regard to the latter, as you cannot see which of the participants is speaking, it is hard to identify their respective contributions to the session. The required effort further increases with an increasing number of participants.
Activity information may include audio, mouse and keyboard activity plus other input device activity. Moreover, data on student feedback, agenda status, and audio and floor control activity can also be used.
The derived activity information can be used in several ways. Firstly, the activity information can be stored in a database for analysis after completion of the session. This enables monitoring the contribution of the participants off-line. Furthermore, by time-stamping the activity information during the deriving step, a history of the session is constructed. The activity information can further be used to index, store and retrieve sessions, or parts of them. Secondly, the activity information can be visualized immediately during the session. Thus, the activity information can directly influence the course of the session. Hereto, the method further comprises the step of visualizing the activity information in the form of a table and/or a diagram. Alternatively, the method comprises the steps of displaying the participant on a display unit in a window having window properties and manipulating the window properties on the basis of the activity information. With such dynamic display management a dynamic visual environment is created allowing on the fly monitoring and tracking participants. Either way of visualizing the activity information increases the virtual presence without adding extra effort for the participants. No manual actions are required. The visualized activity information provides an instrument for building a mental image of the participants. Other ways of visualizing the activity information can be imagined. Advantageously, the manner how the activity information is actually visualized could be made at least partly user programmable in order to suit user preferences.
Advantageously, the activity information deriving step comprises the step of measuring talking time of the participant. In most kinds of communication sessions, talking time will give a very good indication of the contribution of a participant. Moreover, measuring talking time based on the acquired audio data is a relatively simple operation.
Advantageously, the activity information deriving step comprises the step of counting a number of input device operations like key strokes or mouse manipulations made by the participant. The step of deriving the number of input device operations can be performed with very little effort. The most logical location to perform this step is at the terminal of the participant being monitored.
Advantageously, the at least two interconnected terminals comprise a facilitator terminal and at least one client terminal, and the activity information deriving step comprises the steps of obtaining the activity information at the at least one client terminal and sending the activity information to the facilitator terminal. As compared to an alternative method in which the activity information is derived centrally, this approach allows the number of participants to the session to increase without the processing capacity of the facilitator terminal becoming a bottleneck. A third option for performing the activity information deriving step is to do it partly at the client terminals and partly at the facilitator terminal. For example, the number of key strokes is counted locally at the client terminals and the talking time is measured centrally at the facilitator terminal.
Advantageously, after the activity information is sent to the facilitator terminal, the latter can subsequently distribute the activity information to the participants for visualization. In this way, not only the facilitator but also the other participants benefit from the activity information.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.
The invention is further explained below by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.